Worst build

[smcmike]

5e is supposed to be pretty idiot-proof. Prove that idea wrong. What's the worst build you can put together? Standard array, and the multiclass stat requirements apply even to single-class characters. The build should be bad at all levels. Assume also that, once built, the character will be used to maximum effect in the game.

[X3r4ph]

I am thinking Ranger that has low str, dex, and con. Uses all feats on magic initiate for utility spells and bad scalable spells.

[JNAProductions]

Stats are as follows:

Strength 15
Dexterity 13
Constitution 8
Intelligence 12
Wisdom 10
Charisma 14

Start as a Bard 1.

Then go Warlock +1.
Then Rogue +1. (Take only once-Cunning Action is too useful.)
Then Fighter +1.
Then Paladin +1.
Then Sorcerer +1.
Then Bard +1
Repeat until you hit level 18.
Take +2 Monk.

You'll end as a Bard 4/Warlock 4/Rogue 1/Fighter 3/Paladin 3/Sorcerer 3/Monk 2.

9 caster levels (assuming Eldritch Knight). 4 Warlock levels. No extra attack. Only two ASIs, which go towards Wisdom and Wisdom/Constitution, for ending stats of Wisdom 13 and Constitution 9.

You have 8+3*5+3*5+5+3*6+3*6+3*4+2*6-20=83 HP.

AC of 16 (Half-Plate and +1 Dexterity) or 12, if you want to use any Monk Features.

[Theodoxus]

Your starting premise precludes worst builds.

If I could make a barbarian with 8s in physical and 15s in mental stats, that's about as bad as it gets... though I suppose on the flip side, a wizard with the opposite would be pretty terrible too - and both worse than anything that could be created where you have to have MC viable stats on a single class.

[JNAProductions]

Your starting premise precludes worst builds.

If I could make a barbarian with 8s in physical and 15s in mental stats, that's about as bad as it gets... though I suppose on the flip side, a wizard with the opposite would be pretty terrible too - and both worse than anything that could be created where you have to have MC viable stats on a single class.

You can still get pretty bad.

[R.Shackleford]

Drow Light Cleric, I find it funny that a character who is sensitive to bright light would be packing all those daylight spells.

That and I'm sure Lolth would kill you quite quickly.

[smcmike]

Stats are as follows:

Strength 15
Dexterity 13
Constitution 8
Intelligence 12
Wisdom 10
Charisma 14

Start as a Bard 1.

Then go Warlock +1.
Then Rogue +1. (Take only once-Cunning Action is too useful.)
Then Fighter +1.
Then Paladin +1.
Then Sorcerer +1.
Then Bard +1
Repeat until you hit level 18.
Take +2 Monk.

You'll end as a Bard 4/Warlock 4/Rogue 1/Fighter 3/Paladin 3/Sorcerer 3/Monk 2.

9 caster levels (assuming Eldritch Knight). 4 Warlock levels. No extra attack. Only two ASIs, which go towards Wisdom and Wisdom/Constitution, for ending stats of Wisdom 13 and Constitution 9.

You have 8+3*5+3*5+5+3*6+3*6+3*4+2*6-20=83 HP.

AC of 13 (Studded Leather and +1 Dexterity) or 12, if you want to use any Monk Features.

That's pretty bad! The AC would be higher, though - the character makes optimal in-game decisions, and can buy the best equipment and otherwise use his build as best he can.

[JNAProductions]

Ah, right, you DO get medium armor.

So that's Half-Plate, for AC 16.

As a side note, it was HARD to make a build that crappy. It takes effort to screw up, especially with limitations like Standard Array and Multiclass restrictions in place.

[Naanomi]

One can ruin a caster if you make poor enough spell choices; maybe a Ranger/Sorcerer/Warlock/Bard with no combat spells?

[smcmike]

Your starting premise precludes worst builds.

If I could make a barbarian with 8s in physical and 15s in mental stats, that's about as bad as it gets... though I suppose on the flip side, a wizard with the opposite would be pretty terrible too - and both worse than anything that could be created where you have to have MC viable stats on a single class.

I mean, yeah, I was purposefully precluding those builds.

That's actually an interesting question, though - what's the worst possible starting build, using standard array, but no stat placement restrictions. Assume that you make the character at level 1, but your friend can do what he likes with it as he levels up.

What's worse, the weak barbarian or the dumb wizard?

Actually, the clear winner would be Monk. Let's say a Tieflings. Scores -

Str 13
Dex 8
Con 12
Int 16
Wis 10
Cha 16

Your hit points are ok, but your AC and attacks are terrible, and you aren't getting out of the class until you've spent 4 ASI's.

[RulesJD]

1. Any Race Frenzy Barbarian.

You can literally kill yourself after 6-7 combats due to Exhaustion. You really can't get worse than that if you wanted to.

2. Any Race Land Druid

Spend all your time shapeshifted into a CR 0 character. You'll insta-die in almost every fight.

3. Beastmaster with any build

They just suck.

[Addaran]

Even with the multiclass requierement, monk is the one i see with potential to be screwed, since he's so reliant on his stats instead of gear. Pick a race that gives +2 int or cha and +1 dex or wis. This way you can start with only 13 dex and wis. With the 8 in str, that means your attack stat is +1 and you're stuck with 13 AC. Even at lvl 20, you won't have better then 17 with all your ASIs in dex/wis.

You could also make a rogue with only 13 dex, 10 str and 8 con. (tiefling i guess so only mental stats bonus) And you make sure to pick all the wrong skills so he's worst then at least one teamate for each.


One can ruin a caster if you make poor enough spell choices; maybe a Ranger/Sorcerer/Warlock/Bard with no combat spells?

That's the best insight! Specialy with cantrips. If you pick all the weakest one, the caster won't have an at-will attack until lvl 4 and he's stuck with his starter cantrips being bad.

Any known-spell spellcaster will need a while to change his horrible list, since he can only change one per lvl.

[Inevitability]

Drow Light Cleric, I find it funny that a character who is sensitive to bright light would be packing all those daylight spells.

That and I'm sure Lolth would kill you quite quickly.

If Lolth offed every drow who didn't kneel down and worship her, there would be a lot less Drizzt clones. I'm pretty sure your character will be safe.

Which, given the average quality of a Drizzt clone, may actually be a bad thing.

[Grod_The_Giant]

Your starting premise precludes worst builds.

If I could make a barbarian with 8s in physical and 15s in mental stats, that's about as bad as it gets... though I suppose on the flip side, a wizard with the opposite would be pretty terrible too - and both worse than anything that could be created where you have to have MC viable stats on a single class.
A low-Int wizard would still make a solid support/utility character.

[smcmike]

1. Any Race Frenzy Barbarian.

You can literally kill yourself after 6-7 combats due to Exhaustion. You really can't get worse than that if you wanted to.

2. Any Race Land Druid

Spend all your time shapeshifted into a CR 0 character. You'll insta-die in almost every fight.

3. Beastmaster with any build

They just suck.

The idea was to build to suck, but play to win. If you are also playing to suck, it's not much of a challenge with any class. "I hug my father."

[R.Shackleford]

If Lolth offed every drow who didn't kneel down and worship her, there would be a lot less Drizzt clones. I'm pretty sure your character will be safe.

Which, given the average quality of a Drizzt clone, may actually be a bad thing.

He just has plot armor, by most iterations of Lolth... That's the only thing saving him.

I don't actually see a lot of Dritz clones, most of the people (outside core groups) herent even aware of those books. Hell, it wasn't until Tome of Battle that I learned those were books lol.

[Addaran]

A low-Int wizard would still make a solid support/utility character.

Got ninja'ed. I was waiting to get back home to make a solid caster with only 13 in his spellcasting stat. Was thinking cleric but wizard and sorcerer could work well too. (Nobody would complain if the non-charismatic sorcerer just twin haste the two martial monster then stay in the back shooting with a crossbow, with dex and con being his best stats)

[Firechanter]

Disregarding Ability requirements, I'd say something like:
Tiefling Monk.

Terrible race with unsynergetic traits, combined with a lackluster class that isn't really best at anything.

With Abi reqs, go for a race/class combo that allows you to put exactly 13 in your primary stats.
Put the 8 in Con - that alone makes any build terrible in a system that scales mostly by HP.

--

Question: is there anything to prevent the player from multiclassing out to something more fitting for the stats, or is that part of the "build" determined by us?

Here's an attempt:

Forest Gnome Monk (must remain singleclass)
Str 10
Dex 12+1
Con 8
Int 15+2
Wis 13
Cha 14

From day 1, this character would suffer from reduced movement speed, two points lower hit chance and damage than would be expected, lowest possible AC (12) and terrible HP (7 at level 1), and your only really strong point - your Int - is good for nothing in this game since you aren't a Wizard.
Now, the unfortunate player could just scrape by to survive until level 2, then say "screw it, I'm gonna be a Wizard". And if we can't preclude that, he'll still suffer from the terrible Con, but be otherwise a fine and capable Wizard with just 1 lost caster level.

[JellyPooga]

I'm going to suggest that for the purpose of this exercise V.Human is the absolute worst Race possible.

+1 to two irrelevant stats and throw away your Bonus Feat on something like Weapon Master and your Bonus Skill on Performance or Animal Handling. No Darkvision...heck no Racial Traits worth mentioning at all. It's got to be the worst in all cases.

Now, let's check out Class.

A Barbarian with Str 13 can still function; Reckless Attack and Rage will make up for the lack of to hit and damage modifiers. Dumping Con to 8 will hurt a lot, but Resistance to damage overcomes this somewhat. This is definitely a candidate, but still has some selling points.

Bard is a full caster with awesome Class Features. Even with a horrific selection of Spells Known, they'll still be useful due to Bardic Inspiration, Expertise and Jack of All Trades. I firmly believe you cannot make a bad Bard in 5ed. Let's move on.

Cleric will suffer from having Wis:13, but is still a full-caster. There's enough spells on the Cleric list that don't require Wisdom to make him effective, not to mention his Class Features. Too many redeeming qualities here. Definitely not a candidate.

Druid. This isn't even worth considering for a "worst build". Next.

Fighter. There's some potential here. Eldritch Knight can easily get away with low Int, but if we're picking the spells...we can cripple his spellcasting. He suffers more from low physical stats than the Barbarian does, but still has some core features that might make him useful, like Action Surge and...ok, it's just Action Surge. Definite candidate and top of the list so far.

Monk. A Monk with Dex and Wis 13 is going to be pretty bad; low AC, low attack/damage, poor utility from the likes of Stunning Fist. An Elemental Monk with carefully chosen Disciplines could be almost useless except for the odd time he actually manages to pull off something impressive. I'm almost tempted to put this one to the top of the list, above Fighter, but I'm on the fence. Certainly a candidate.

Paladin has a lot of nice features, many of which are not dependent on stats. Probably not a candidate.

Ranger is an odd one for me. I'm not a fan of the Class, but I think the chassis is too reliable to be considered for a "worst case" scenario. It's generally quite bad, but it can be used very effectively, even with bad stats. At least we can choose rubbish Spells Known (unlike the Paladin).

Rogue is one of the Classes that really shines despite poor stats. Sneak Attack and Expertise make up for a lot of ground. Not a candidate.

Sorcerer; Versatile. Full-Caster. Next.

Warlock. Here's something we might be able to play with. The very limited spell list means we can effectively cripple what little spellcasting he does have and many of his Class Features are dependent on stats. A Blade Pact Archfey Warlock with bad spell choices has almost nothing going for it without making the right choices on Spells and Invocations. Add some useless Invocations like Eyes of the Rune Keeper and we're cooking on gas. Still almost a full-caster, though, so maybe only worth consideration as a dip.

Wizard. Versatile. Full-Caster. Just no.


What does that leave us with? Barbarian (maybe), Fighter, Monk and Warlock.

None of these depend on Con, so let's dump that hard; we've used our 8. Why not chuck a Racial Bonus on it too? That makes it an almighty 9.

None of them want Int (with the exception of EK, but we can work around a high Int, I think), so let's put our 15 there.

I'm going to ditch Barbarian as being able to make up for poor stats too much, leaving us with a Fighter/Monk/Warlock multiclass. That means we need Str, Dex, Wis and Cha at least 13. How about;

Str: 13
Dex: 14
Con: 8+1 Racial = 9
Int: 15
Wis: 12+1 Racial = 13
Cha: 10

Fighter grants Con Save proficiency and Warlock gives us Wisdom. I'd rather we didn't have these two critical Save Proficiencies, so Level 1 will be Monk.

Seeing as we're MCing to Fighter, we cannot really justify Weapon Master as our Human Bonus Feat, even though we could. Creating intentional redundancy is against the spirit of the exercise, I feel. Instead, I'd like to switch Dex and Int and take Linguist instead.

As for Background, it's a hard choice. They're all situationally pretty handy, but I think Acolyte probably takes the cake for "least applicable under most circumstances". We can also duplicate both of it's skills with the Monk Class, allowing us to pick up the mediocre-at-best Animal Handling and Performance.

We'll grab History as our Bonus Human Skill.

That gives us a Level 1 Monk;
Str:13, Dex:15, Con:9, Int: 15, Wis: 13, Cha:10
Attack: Shortsword (+4, 1d6+2) plus Unarmed (+4, 1d4+2)
AC: 13
Feat: Linguist
Saves: Str, Dex
Skills: Animal Handling, History, Insight, Performance, Religion
Languages: Common, Elvish (+1 Racial), Dwarvish, Halfling (+2 Background), Gnomish, Goblin, Orc (+3 Linguist)

This doesn't look so bad. He's not great in combat, but he's also not really holding anyone back and he's pretty handy with the lingo (although he's no diplomat with all his Social Skills at +0). Hopefully, this is about as good as he's going to get.

First course of action is to level up badly. We don't qualify for Warlock (yet), so we're only considering Monk and Fighter at this point. Monk 2 gives us Ki and a speed boost, so let's look at Fighter. We get martial weapon proficiency, a Fighting Style and Second Wind. In the spirit of "no intentional redundancy", we'll take Great Weapon Fighting. The Monk can make use of it by two-handing a Quarterstaff, but gets no benefit when making unarmed strikes. Perfect. It maintains the spirit of the exercise whilst totally gimping Class Features.

Let's speed things up;

1) Monk (1)
2) Monk (1) / Fighter (1) - Fighting Style: GWF
3) Monk (2) / Fighter (1)
4) Monk (3) / Fighter (1) - Monastic Trad: Wo4E
- Elemental Discipline: Shape the Flowing River
5) Monk (4) / Fighter (1) - ASI: +2 Cha6) Monk (4) / Fighter (2)
7) Monk (4) / Fighter (3) - Martial Arch: EK
- Cantrips: Mending, Message
- Spells Known: Alarm, Identify, Witch Bolt
8) Monk (4) / Fighter (4) - ASI: Actor
- Spells Known: Mage Armour
9) Monk (4) / Fighter (4) / Warlock (1) - Patron: Archfey
- Cantrips: Blade Ward, True Strike
- Spells Known: Illusory Script, Comprehend Languages
10) Monk (4) / Fighter (4) / Warlock (2)
- Spells Known: Unseen Servant
- Invocations: Eyes of the Rune Keeper, Beast Speech
11) Monk (4) / Fighter (4) / Warlock (3) - Pact Boon: Blade
- Spells Known: Charm Person12) Monk (4) / Fighter (4) / Warlock (4) - ASI: Savage Attacker
Cantrip: Friends
Spells Known: Ray of Enfeeblement
13) Monk (4) / Fighter (4) / Warlock (5)
Spells Known: Tongues
Invocation: Fiendish Vigour
14) Monk (4) / Fighter (4) / Warlock (6)
Spells Known: Magic Circle
15) Monk (4) / Fighter (4) / Warlock (7)
Spells Known: Remove Curse
Invocation: Mire the Mind
16) Monk (4) / Fighter (5) / Warlock (7)17) Monk (4) / Fighter (6) / Warlock (7) - ASI: War Caster
18) Monk (4) / Fighter (7) / Warlock (7)
- Spells Known: Arcane Lock
19) Monk (5) / Fighter (7) / Warlock (7)
20) Monk (6) / Fighter (7) / Warlock (7)
- Elemental Discipline: Clench of the North Wind

That gives us a Level 20 Monk (6)/Fighter (7)/Warlock (7);
Str:13, Dex:15, Con:9, Int: 15, Wis: 13, Cha:13
Attack: 2xQuarterstaff (+8, 1d8+2, re-roll 1-2) plus Unarmed (+8, 1d6+2)
AC: 13
HP: 7+(4x4)+(7x5)+(7x4) = 86
Feats: Linguist, Actor, Savage Attacker, War Caster
Saves: Str, Dex
Skills: Animal Handling, History, Insight, Performance, Religion
Languages: Common, Elvish (+1 Racial), Dwarvish, Halfling (+2 Background), Gnomish, Goblin, Orc (+3 Linguist)
Cantrips: Mending, Message, Blade Ward, True Strike, Friends
Spells Known
- 1st Level : Alarm, Identify, Witch Bolt, Illusory Script, Comprehend Languages, Mage Armour, Unseen Servant, Charm Person
- 2nd Level : Arcane Lock, Ray of Enfeeblement
- 3rd Level : Tongues, Magic Circle, Remove Curse
Spellcasting
- Pact Magic (4th level, 2/sh.rest, DC:15, Spell Attack: +7)
- EK (4x1st, 2x2nd, DC:16, Spell Attack: +8)
Invocations: Eyes of the Rune Keeper, Beast Speech, Fiendish Vigour, Mire the Mind
Elemental Disciplines (DC: 15): Elemental Attunement, Shape of the Flowing River, Clench of the North Wind
Class Features: Fighting Style (GWF), Second Wind (1d10+7), Action Surge, Extra Attack, Weapon Bond, War Magic, Unarmoured Defence, Martial Arts (1d6), Ki (6), Unarmoured Movement (+10ft), Deflect Missiles (1d10+8), Slow Fall (30ft), Stunning Strike (DC: 15), Ki-Empowered Strikes, Fey Presence (DC: 15), Misty Escape, Pact of the Blade

Technically there's no redundant features, yet the build is almost useless at level 20. He'd make a half decent translator or scholar, I suppose, but frankly a Level 1 Rogue could do a better job of it. His spell and ability DC's are too low to be of much use and of so limited use at the levels they're gained anyway that this is about the worst character I can conceive. I'd be surprised if someone managed to get any decent use out of it at any given level past 1st. I feel a bit dirty for having spent the time designing it...

JNA's Bard 4/Warlock 4/Rogue 1/Fighter 3/Paladin 3/Sorcerer 3/Monk 2 is similar, but those Rogue and Bard levels mean he's got Expertise in 4 Skills...that's far too useful! Four skills with a minimum modifier of +11 is actively good, let alone merely useful. Sorcerer 3 means Metamagic and Flexible Casting; even with bad spell choices, there's a lot of flexibility there. The Paladin levels force you to pick up another Fighting Style and give you both Divine Smite and Channel Divinity; both features that can be very handy, especially when you consider that those 9 caster levels means you're playing with 5th level slots.

[Giant2005]

I am thinking Ranger that has low str, dex, and con. Uses all feats on magic initiate for utility spells and bad scalable spells.

Depending on what counts as low (would need 13 Dex to multiclass), that build is actually pretty solid.
Just add 3 levels of Battlemaster, 1 level of Cleric, and Mounted Combatant (while being a small race yourself); and you can mount your quite hard to damage companion, while having it do all of the damage (assisted with Commander's Strike), while you rest being quite hard to damage yourself with an active Sanctuary spell (and high Wisdom).

[smcmike]

That gives us a Level 20 Monk (6)/Fighter (7)/Warlock (7);
Str:13, Dex:15, Con:9, Int: 15, Wis: 13, Cha:13
Attack: 2xQuarterstaff (+8, 1d8+2, re-roll 1-2) plus Unarmed (+8, 1d6+2)
AC: 13
HP: 7+(4x4)+(7x5)+(7x4) = 86
Feats: Linguist, Actor, Savage Attacker, War Caster
Saves: Str, Dex
Skills: Animal Handling, History, Insight, Performance, Religion
Languages: Common, Elvish (+1 Racial), Dwarvish, Halfling (+2 Background), Gnomish, Goblin, Orc (+3 Linguist)
Cantrips: Mending, Message, Blade Ward, True Strike, Friends
Spells Known
- 1st Level : Alarm, Identify, Witch Bolt, Illusory Script, Comprehend Languages, Mage Armour, Unseen Servant, Charm Person
- 2nd Level : Arcane Lock, Ray of Enfeeblement
- 3rd Level : Tongues, Magic Circle, Remove Curse
Spellcasting
- Pact Magic (4th level, 2/sh.rest, DC:15, Spell Attack: +7)
- EK (4x1st, 2x2nd, DC:16, Spell Attack: +8)
Invocations: Eyes of the Rune Keeper, Beast Speech, Fiendish Vigour, Mire the Mind
Elemental Disciplines (DC: 15): Elemental Attunement, Shape of the Flowing River, Clench of the North Wind
Class Features: Fighting Style (GWF), Second Wind (1d10+7), Action Surge, Extra Attack, Weapon Bond, War Magic, Unarmoured Defence, Martial Arts (1d6), Ki (6), Unarmoured Movement (+10ft), Deflect Missiles (1d10+8), Slow Fall (30ft), Stunning Strike (DC: 15), Ki-Empowered Strikes, Fey Presence (DC: 15), Misty Escape, Pact of the Blade

Technically there's no redundant features, yet the build is almost useless at level 20. He'd make a half decent translator or scholar, I suppose, but frankly a Level 1 Rogue could do a better job of it. His spell and ability DC's are too low to be of much use and of so limited use at the levels they're gained anyway that this is about the worst character I can conceive. I'd be surprised if someone managed to get any decent use out of it at any given level past 1st. I feel a bit dirty for having spent the time designing it....

A+

This is a truly terrible build.

[Hrugner]

I think it'd be hard to get a forest gnome barbarian 13 10 9 17 14 12 to do much good. No great weapons, low AC, lowish HP. Fighter 1/warlock bladefey 5/paladin 1/barbarian berserk 13

If you're using the variant encumbrance rules he's likely back down to a move of 25 if he has weapons and armor. He should spend most rounds chasing people impotently hurling weapons at them. After he's been kicked out of rage twice he's down to 7.5 feet of movement.

[JellyPooga]

A+

This is a truly terrible build.

I intentionally picked horrific and under-par spell choices, but even if you switched them for the cream of the crop, you're looking at a single level 4 Warlock Spell Known as your A-grade material at level 20, you're still stuck with abysmal ability scores and you've got no real non-magical combat ability, either offensive or defensive; too many Features run off of Class level to be useful.

As is, his "big gun" is a lvl.4 Witch Bolt using his Pact magic...and wasn't there a thread recently about just how bad that spell really is? :smallamused:

[R.Shackleford]

I intentionally picked horrific and under-par spell choices, but even if you switched them for the cream of the crop, you're looking at a single level 4 Warlock Spell Known as your A-grade material at level 20, you're still stuck with abysmal ability scores and you've got no real non-magical combat ability, either offensive or defensive; too many Features run off of Class level to be useful.

As is, his "big gun" is a lvl.4 Witch Bolt using his Pact magic...and wasn't there a thread recently about just how bad that spell really is? :smallamused:

Technically witch bolt ain't too bad if you have an ally who can grapple (barbarian, rogue, fighter) with the grapple feat.

Ain't too bad as a spell, pretty crappy in the way it would be used above...

Though you could slowly kill with it...

4d12 + 9d12 (9 rounds later) = 13d12 damage 84.5 lightning damage...

So theoretically you would be useful.

[JellyPooga]

Technically witch bolt ain't too bad if you have an ally who can grapple (barbarian, rogue, fighter) with the grapple feat.

4d12+1d12/round is ok damage before level 10 if you can maintain it. At level 20 as pretty much your best offensive spell? Not so much :smallbiggrin:

[Naanomi]

How would a character with 8 Con and abysmal AC (monk?) who takes a bunch of 'defender' powers (protection fighting style, oath of the Crown, purple dragon fighter) look?

[R.Shackleford]

4d12+1d12/round is ok damage before level 10 if you can maintain it. At level 20 as pretty much your best offensive spell? Not so much :smallbiggrin:

You can slowly kill things over time while your friend grapples.

The "not a bad spell part" was more directed at the spell itself and not it being on this character... But it can still be useful.

Hell, you have advantage on the attack roll (friend restrained the target) so you can crit the initial damage for 8d12+9d12 total damage (over 10 rounds, slowly killing is still killing lol).

Your Warlock will do 110 average damage if he crits (over 10 rounds lol).

Edit: I now want to make a character who grapples, has a huge con save, and witch bolts creatures.

[recapdrake]

All I can think of is a beast master ranger with a chicken companion and lowest possible dex and highest possible int

[X3r4ph]

Drow Light Cleric, I find it funny that a character who is sensitive to bright light would be packing all those daylight spells.

That and I'm sure Lolth would kill you quite quickly.

Hilarious. I am currently in a group with a drow warlock (of the undying light) 2/paladin (OoA) 8. He is having a blast even though he sucks in combat outside.
DM is lenient with his light sensitivity and only triggers it 50% of his turns so far.
Good drow missionaries... Hard knock life yo.

[uraniumrooster]

That gives us a Level 20 Monk (6)/Fighter (7)/Warlock (7);
Str:13, Dex:15, Con:9, Int: 15, Wis: 13, Cha:13
Attack: 2xQuarterstaff (+8, 1d8+2, re-roll 1-2) plus Unarmed (+8, 1d6+2)
AC: 13
HP: 7+(4x4)+(7x5)+(7x4) = 86
Feats: Linguist, Actor, Savage Attacker, War Caster
Saves: Str, Dex
Skills: Animal Handling, History, Insight, Performance, Religion
Languages: Common, Elvish (+1 Racial), Dwarvish, Halfling (+2 Background), Gnomish, Goblin, Orc (+3 Linguist)
Cantrips: Mending, Message, Blade Ward, True Strike, Friends
Spells Known
- 1st Level : Alarm, Identify, Witch Bolt, Illusory Script, Comprehend Languages, Mage Armour, Unseen Servant, Charm Person
- 2nd Level : Arcane Lock, Ray of Enfeeblement
- 3rd Level : Tongues, Magic Circle, Remove Curse
Spellcasting
- Pact Magic (4th level, 2/sh.rest, DC:15, Spell Attack: +7)
- EK (4x1st, 2x2nd, DC:16, Spell Attack: +8)
Invocations: Eyes of the Rune Keeper, Beast Speech, Fiendish Vigour, Mire the Mind
Elemental Disciplines (DC: 15): Elemental Attunement, Shape of the Flowing River, Clench of the North Wind
Class Features: Fighting Style (GWF), Second Wind (1d10+7), Action Surge, Extra Attack, Weapon Bond, War Magic, Unarmoured Defence, Martial Arts (1d6), Ki (6), Unarmoured Movement (+10ft), Deflect Missiles (1d10+8), Slow Fall (30ft), Stunning Strike (DC: 15), Ki-Empowered Strikes, Fey Presence (DC: 15), Misty Escape, Pact of the Blade

Technically there's no redundant features, yet the build is almost useless at level 20. He'd make a half decent translator or scholar, I suppose, but frankly a Level 1 Rogue could do a better job of it. His spell and ability DC's are too low to be of much use and of so limited use at the levels they're gained anyway that this is about the worst character I can conceive. I'd be surprised if someone managed to get any decent use out of it at any given level past 1st. I feel a bit dirty for having spent the time designing it...

This is going to be my next PC. I'll tell the rest of the party "just wait, it gets better, my build hasn't hit its stride yet." They'll keep waiting for the stride that will never come. But when the day comes that the DM asks, "does anyone speak Goblin?" I will smugly respond in the affirmative. That will be my one glorious moment, and I'll bring it up every session after that.

"Hey guys, remember that time we needed to talk to goblins, but nobody spoke Goblin? Oh, right, that didn't happen, because I SPEAK GOBLIN! Booyah! ADVENTURE!"

[NewDM]

Just put an 8 or 9 in your casting stats and only pick spells that require attack rolls. (spells that allow saves usually deal half damage). Pick variant human and throw away your feat on Actor or Keen Mind. That's about the worst build you can get. If you can get spells that use weapon attacks you can take the GWM/Sniper feat and always attack with the penalty. Always use a dagger as your attack weapon though. Also dump your str and use it as your attack and damage stat.

[R.Shackleford]

Just put an 8 or 9 in your casting stats and only pick spells that require attack rolls. (spells that allow saves usually deal half damage). Pick variant human and throw away your feat on Actor or Keen Mind. That's about the worst build you can get. If you can get spells that use weapon attacks you can take the GWM/Sniper feat and always attack with the penalty. Always use a dagger as your attack weapon though. Also dump your str and use it as your attack and damage stat.

1d20 + 1 to 5 versus AC... You could still take out the hordes of minions (low CR groups that have low AC). Not as well as an optimized chars yet but we'll enough to not be the worst build ever.

[Firechanter]

Well, that goes against the premise of this thread, i.e. min ability reqs, and the characters being played as optimally as possible. So whatever class you'll take won't attack with less than a +1 stat.

But still, compare the lowlevel output, for ex:
Normal: Attack +5, Dmg 1d8+3 (plain baseline without Fighting Style etc)
vs
Gimp: Attack +3, Dmg 1d8+1

Vs AC 14 for example, that's DPR 4.5 vs 2.75 - over 60% difference.

[ES Curse]

Lightfoot Halfling Barbarian. You're small (struggles to use weapons like the big boys) and don't have Stout's poison resist or a Gnome's saving throw buffs. Put your points into INT, as it is near-useless to a Halfling Barbarian.

[R.Shackleford]

Lightfoot Halfling Barbarian. You're small (struggles to use weapons like the big boys) and don't have Stout's poison resist or a Gnome's saving throw buffs. Put your points into INT, as it is near-useless to a Halfling Barbarian.

Reckless attack means you don't take disadvantage.

Note, I'm taking these builds as if someone builds them but someone else plays them as effectively as possible.

[Citan]

Stats are as follows:

Strength 15
Dexterity 13
Constitution 8
Intelligence 12
Wisdom 10
Charisma 14

Start as a Bard 1.

Then go Warlock +1.
Then Rogue +1. (Take only once-Cunning Action is too useful.)
Then Fighter +1.
Then Paladin +1.
Then Sorcerer +1.
Then Bard +1
Repeat until you hit level 18.
Take +2 Monk.

You'll end as a Bard 4/Warlock 4/Rogue 1/Fighter 3/Paladin 3/Sorcerer 3/Monk 2.

9 caster levels (assuming Eldritch Knight). 4 Warlock levels. No extra attack. Only two ASIs, which go towards Wisdom and Wisdom/Constitution, for ending stats of Wisdom 13 and Constitution 9.

You have 8+3*5+3*5+5+3*6+3*6+3*4+2*6-20=83 HP.

AC of 16 (Half-Plate and +1 Dexterity) or 12, if you want to use any Monk Features.
Hey, you know, before the SCAG I would have wholeheartedly agreed with you.
Since now you have melee cantrips, it could actually become a decent character depending on the choice of archetypes.
For example, take Devotion Paladin for Sacred Weapon bonus to hit, Undying Light Warlock for bonus damage, Shadow Sorcerer for death save and darkness.
You can deal decent damage with your action thanks to GreenFlameBlade and you still get a few useful spells for you and your party to use concentration on.

Sure, such a character would be far from optimized, and should considered as a "custom gish" that pales in comparison of martials or even third casters. But far from being utterly useless.
That's the "problem" with CHA base, several low-level class features are too easy to combine.

The easiest way to make a crappy character for me would probably be a mix similar to you but with much more Monk in the balance. Such as Monk 10 / Paladin 10. Armor incompatibility, stat incompatibility, resource incompatibility (making divine smite near useless and only limited pool of ki), redundant features such as extra attack...

[Laserlight]

Drow Light Cleric, I find it funny that a character who is sensitive to bright light would be packing all those daylight spells.

My son ran a 4e drow invoker of the Death God, Pelor.

[R.Shackleford]

My son ran a 4e drow invoker of the Death God, Pelor.

Well Pelor is Evil... So yeah that can make sense. Lolth probabaly owes him a favor and didn't destroy the Drow ;).

Pelor of the burning hate is fantastically awesome.

[ES Curse]

Reckless attack means you don't take disadvantage.

Note, I'm taking these builds as if someone builds them but someone else plays them as effectively as possible.

But they get advantage while you don't. Risk/reward doesn't work in the Barbarian's favor. You wind up using mediocre versatile weapons, so you can't even Barbarian right.

[JellyPooga]

But they get advantage while you don't. Risk/reward doesn't work in the Barbarian's favor. You wind up using mediocre versatile weapons, so you can't even Barbarian right.

Lightfoot Halfling Barbarian

Str:13, Dex:8+2=10, Con:10, Int:15, Wis:12, Cha:14+1=15

That's probably the worst array you could assign under the "rules" of the exercise. At level 1;

Normal Attack: Battleaxe (+3, 1d10+1)
Rage Attack: Battleaxe (+3, 1d10+3)

He's also resistant to weapon damage in Rage, can wear Medium Armour for decent-ish AC and has 12 HP. At level 2, he gets advantage to hit. He's still pretty functional; not great, perhaps, but he can still do his job of being a front-line fighter and he'll still contribute well into the game despite his poor stats because of Rage, Reckless Attack and all the other features he gets that aren't dependent on stats. At level 20, he gets a straight +4 to Str and Con, regardless of where you assign his ASI's; there's absolutely no way to manipulate that to any detriment!

Barbarian is a very forgiving chassis and Halfling is an awesome Race; Lucky, Brave, Nimbleness and Naturally Stealthy all well outweigh V.Humans +1 to two inconsequential stats and pointless Feat/Skill. Being small and having to use a 1d8 or 1d10 instead of 1d12 or 2d6 is not a massive issue; it's only a point or two difference on average.

[Hrugner]

The smallness is mostly to keep the player from ever getting good use out of great weapon master I think. It isn't the small dice change.

[smcmike]

The smallness is mostly to keep the player from ever getting good use out of great weapon master I think. It isn't the small dice change.

For the purposes of the original exercise, you get to pick the feats, so he can't pick up GWM anyways. Barbarian is just a strong class - compare with a stat-starved monk.

[Hrugner]

For the purposes of the original exercise, you get to pick the feats, so he can't pick up GWM anyways. Barbarian is just a strong class - compare with a stat-starved monk.

Monk ends up with a few other weird things though. Even if you take the worst path you still have a few things you can do better than non-monks. Even putting your lowest stats in strength dex wisdom and con, you end up with proficiency in all saves, rerolls on saves, bonus action dodge, immortality. It's nice.

A stat dumped small berserker has fewer stats you need to kill and more you're allowed to kill. You can give them a base AC of ten and too little strength to carry decent armor and a shield. You can easily drop their speed down enough that they can't keep raging for very long as well. You have two rages before your barbarian is at speed 7. He's the only option so bad he can kill himself in the course of normal play. After 15th he starts to look playable, but you can easily grab some charisma casting levels with worthless spell options to bump him down.

edit: but yeah, I suppose a normal size human with languages is probably worse. I keep thinking the player will have some way to fix his feats during play.

[R.Shackleford]

But they get advantage while you don't. Risk/reward doesn't work in the Barbarian's favor. You wind up using mediocre versatile weapons, so you can't even Barbarian right.

Since no subclass was chosen... I could just go wolf totem and attack, I don't have to hit to keep my rage up. Allies all get advantage.

Actually, fun times, I can run through enemy squares and rage against the caster and all my allies get advantage on their range attacks.